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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. spell — magic
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. press — a publisher
  6. root — of a word
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. press — to push
  9. spring — the season
  10. band — a ring
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. band — a music group
  13. root — of a plant
  14. pound — a weight
  15. dip — to sink
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. root — the cause
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com